Catching Up, For the Most Part

What's that you say? The last time I posted was a week ago, and I had only gotten to the 12th in my entry? Good lord. I'll have to do some summarizing, but it shouldn't be too hard.

13th- Went to the play King Lear. It was a good show, I had never seen it. Lear was played by Jonathan Pryce, who you might know from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Honestly, I remember him as the bad guy from What a Girl Wants.

Ayup.

14th- Went to the pub with the group that night. 'Twas a good time. A lot of people didn't bring their licenses, they brought their ISIC cards. That was dumb when we tried to move around. Ah well, they know for next time.

15th- A few of us went to Portobello road! Oh my goodness, there is so much to see there. I'm definitely going back, but possibly on my own. With a group, you're constantly looking for the other members of the group within the throngs of people. Also, I want to do some shopping. I've probably done enough shopping for myself... I should look to getting other people gifts. I have vague ideas, but at the same time I'm stuck. We also tried finding Abbey Road, but were terribly unsuccessful. I ran after that.

16th- Prepared for the next week. Cooked, did readings, all that jazz.

17th- Not too eventful. Had classes, lasted most of the day. Did more trip planning.

18th- Went out for drinks again (Tuesday? I know). There was a deal that happens on Tuesday, so a few of us went out for a bit.

19th- That night we went to a play called The Busy Body. It was hilarious and adorable. I was a sucker for the costuming, which happened to be very 18th century. The buttons seemed to keep popping off though. After the play, we got to see the Bridge all lit up. It was gorgeous.

20th- Apparently was not that eventful, because I even forgot to write about it in my travel journal. Oh, I did go see Platform 9 3/4s, and that was fun. Whoops. However, the next day was eventful because... I went to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.

And that I'll talk more about in my NEXT post. Don't worry, it won't be as long of a wait! Plus I know, these list type posts are obnoxious, but it's hard to get everything down so quickly. I swear I'll get normal again.

How do you post when you have a lot to catch up on?

Adventures Abroad: Orientation

Now is the time we get to talking about the actual program! Huzzah!

I traveled to the orientation with the two girls across the road from me. Random thing: There was going to be a girl living in the same house with me, but sometime during the week right before she dropped out. Not just out of the program, but of University. Last time I heard, no one had been able to contact her. Super duper weird. Anywho, we traveled to the tube station, looking at where we needed to transfer and all of that. As we got off one train and onto another, we ran into some issues. Mainly, one of the members of our group didn't get on the train with us. The doors shut in her face before she was able to get on.
I went back to the other station while Catie (the other girl) stayed at the tube station we arrived at. Unfortunately, there was no Catherine to be found. We decided to head to the school anyways, hoping she would find her way (she did).

Orientation was basically just that. We got a review on basic etiquette in the country, some overviews of the classes, and conversed with each other. It was all good. After Orientation was over, I led a large chunk of the group to the place where I bought my phone. Just an easy way to get your phone, somewhere nearby you know? So that was that.
That night, the neighbor students and I (the ones from the tube) went to a local pub to celebrate the start of the program. I tried Pimms Lemonade. It is SO GOOD. Seriously. It's a summer drink, but I'll for sure bring Pimms home to make drinks for the peeps back there.

The next day, we went to a place called Kew Gardens. This was one of the places that quite a few people told me to go, so I was interested. The neighbors and I wanted to make sure we weren't late, but we ended up getting there way early. Our mode of transportation to the gardens was a ferry. The tour certainly was interesting, but I think I've come to the realization that as far as trips go, ferries are not at the top of my list. Or any ship type thing really.
The Gardens had some incredible sights, and I especially liked the color of the Kew Palace. It's a strange orange color, but I think it looks fantastic. There were also lily pads big enough to sit on! How wild.

Wednesday was the start date of actual classes, but a lot of the information was simply Syllabus stuff again. Honestly, I don't mind. However I soon realized that I might have a difficult time in the class about British government. The teacher is a bit hard to follow. One class I am excited about the more I get involved with it? Shakespeare the Dramatist. This isn't because I'm a huge Shakespeare fan (he's a'ight), but the teacher seems to be quite interesting. Plus, it's big on discussions, and I'm all for that.

I will continue this at a future point, but for now we must depart. Tata!

Adventures Abroad: My Last Few Days On My Own

I swear I'll get back to the current situation. Right now, it's so hard. But we move on.

We're now to the 7th, where I simply did a bit of wandering. I got some items I needed like an adaptor for my computer, notebooks for school, and things like that. I ended up seeing the Georgia State basketball team too. Weird. I wonder why they were there.
Managing to explore new areas, I found the South Bank and St. Paul's Cathedral. I only got a taste of the cathedral as it was closing in a half hour I believe, but it was still incredible.

I ended up staying up pretty late that night uploading pictures, but I'm glad I did. The next day I went on a light run with my cousin. It's always nice to have a running buddy. We ran over to the South Bank and saw the Thames Festival going on. I always like exploring festivals. After we returned to his flat, he went off to talk to his best friend and I was all alone. It's alright, I ended up finding Drury Lane. I also ended up having some AMAZING Indian food. I had this thing that was chicken stuffed with spinach and lamb covered in a sauce. Odd, but so good.

Continuing on, it was now the last day of staying with my relative and moving onto staying with my homestay. My relative and I went to the Bombay style restaurant for breakfast and had some tasty stuff. I'm usually not a yogurt person, but when you have vanilla bean yogurt you become a fan.
He led me to Covent Garden and the Olympic store which happened to be having its get rid of everything 50% off sale. I got a 1948 London Olympics poster. Not sure if I should keep for myself or give to someone.
I headed to the South Bank after exploring Covent Garden a bit. On the way, I got to see the Paraolympic marathon going on! I was so excited, I thought I had missed it. Man, just thinking about that arm strength hurts my arms.

Soon, it was time to head to my homestay. It was fairly easy to find, but when I arrived it was a bit stressful. I couldn't get service to call them, so I wandered around trying to see if they were already there. No luck. I ended up finding a payphone (which didn't give me change back!) and calling them.

My host mom was full of excitement upon my arrival. They had had homestays twice before, so they knew what they were doing. One of their daughters was there too, and she runs! That's exciting. We had chili and some crumble, which were both delicious.
When I tried to connect my Internet with the code, it wasn't working. My host mom didn't know much about the Internet, so we had to wait until the next day to get my Internet working. I said it was fine, but as soon as I shut the door I broke down. I think it was the fact that I now had no connection to anyone I knew. With the relative, despite not knowing each other before, we still had a connection through a relative, so we could... well, relate. Here I was alone. So I freaked out.
Looking back, it could have also been due to being tired. It was silly, but whatever.

Getting closer to the more recent stuff, which takes less time to recap! Yes! For now, I'll leave you with that.

Adventures Abroad: Returning to the UK

Alright, back to more recap. Goodness, I'm behind aren't I? Well to be fair I haven' had a lot of Internet time available until now, and even now I've only got a bit of time.

We last left off with my return to London. And goodness, that was quite awhile ago. I returned... the night of the 3rd? Ten days? Good lord.
The first day back was more of a recoup day. I internet-ed, I got razors to shave, (did I mention I hadn't shaved since I was back in Oregon?), and bought some groceries. I ended up meeting my relative I was staying with at a pub near his flat. I met his best friend and his co-worker friend, and we all went to dinner at a lovely Italian place.

The next day (5th) I went to the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. The National Portrait Gallery had a fantastic portrait contest going on with portraits from artists around the UK. There are some INCREDIBLE artists around, that's for sure. In the National Gallery, I didn't realize Van Gough (sp?) famous sunflower painting was in there, so that was a pleasant surprise. Oh by the way, did I mention I got there by going on a run? Yes. It was nice. Almost positive I went a much shorter distance than anticipated, but what are you going to do?

On the 6th was something very exciting. Y'see, I was looking up events happening in London, and I happened to find an event called Fashion's Night Out. This is where many of the stores in the Soho area were having free events and sales and such. I was so there. Before that though, I was off to the National History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. I only saw the Ball Gown exhibit in the VA Museum (for now), but it was so worth it. God I love fashion.

After some dinner, it was time for the Fashion's Night Out! There were sales everywhere, and places were giving little things out such as champagne. I didn't grab any of the drinks because honestly, I was nervous to. I know, I know. Mostly I just browsed the clothes.

I'm quite exhausted right now, so I'll stop for the evening. I'll be sure to post more later!

Adventures Abroad: Where I Do a Bit of Shopping

Here we are, continuing on to our next part of the adventures!

I wake up on my last day at the hostel bright and early. On that day, I was going to do something I hadn't done since I'd gotten to Europe. I went on a run. 

I had a general idea of where I was going, and was going to run for at least 30 minutes. i don't know how far I actually went, but I ran for at least 40 minutes. The crazy thing is, I didn't hurt at all. I felt GOOD. 

I did end up getting lost for a bit, but managed to get back to my hostel before needing to check out. 

Being my last day in Paris, I was going to buy gifts for my family. Also fromage. 

I wandered FOREVER trying to find a place to get cheese, but I couldn't find one anywhere. So I settled for a plait a fromage instead. I know, it's typically a dessert thing, but I did not care. I got my cheese. 

Later I went back over to the area around the Notre Dame. Google maps told me there were a few places over there to buy books, so I went with it. (I was planning to buy books for my family. Cool books. I think books are a cool thing, especially foreign books.)

As I got off of the metro, I noticed a guy opening a green box with a padlock on it on the bridge. Inside of it were old vintage books. How cool! I look through, but didn't see any that I liked. Too bad. I wish there were more I thought... then I saw it.

If you've ever seen Midnight in Paris, there's a scene where Owen Wilson is passing by this area with all sorts of vintage things. Kind of like an outdoor market. Welp, I believe I had just found it. 

The green boxes went on as far as the eye could see, filled with old vintage posters, books, and other goodies. I was seriously overwhelmed.

After I covered a huge chunk of the area and bought some things, I wandered over to the more city area. Over here, I found people going into buildings with yellow tents outside the front of the store. Not knowing what it was, I took a closer look. It happened to be a bookstore that took over two different blocks! Wild.

Later I had some duck. I'd never had duck before, and it's quite French. Pretty delicious. I also went back to the Notre Dame and actually went inside this time. I'm glad I did, it's incredible in there. I felt a bit blasphemous taking pictures. (I still took pictures.

I took the Eurostar home (to London at least) and went back to my relative's flat. What a lovely trip.

I'm not going to say what I got for my mom, as she might be reading this soon, but I just want to say what I bought! For my dad, I bought him this old Scrooge Mcduck comicbook. Strange? Not really. My dad has this special collector's Scrooge Mcduck book, and it's a special thing to him (Probably just for value, but eh). I just think the old Scrooge Mcduck comic is a cool idea. If he doesn't like it, his loss.

I got my sister this awesome vintage Elle Magazine. There were so many cool old magazines, it was hard to choose! I think the one I got is neat.

Then... I went a little crazy with myself. Yes, I got things for myself. Can you blame me? One of the things featured at many of the areas were vintage fashion prints. Like 1900s prints and papers. I LOVE old fashion.  Still why History of Fashion was my favorite class. I was so ticked at myself in the museums when I couldn't remember the names of the articles of clothing in the paintings. 

So I originally was just going to get one. Then I saw a cool 1961 print (love those early 60s fashions). So I wanted that too. But then there was a deal for three prints...

Yes, I got three. I know. I'm still super excited about them all.

I didn't expect this one day to be so long! But it was. I will continue on my adventures tomorrow: Back in London!

For now, here are more pictures. 

Took this on my morning run. There are beautiful sights everywhere you go in Paris!

This bridge was near the market area. It's covered in padlocks that lovers lock there for "eternal love" or something like that. I'd heard of it before, but I still can't remember what it's called.

Inside Notre Dame

Near the Train station. Just cool lookin'.

I'm still giddy. (Okay, they're technically journals. Whateves.) 

Adventures Abroad: The Next Two Days in Paris

And the adventure continues! The story picks back up on the first morning in Paris, where I had actually gotten some rest. I slept in much later that I hoped, but it was probably a good thing. I had missed the free breakfast, so I decided to do the stereotypical American in Paris thing and buy a Pain au Chocolat. The verdict? Delicious. It's strange though since I've actually been seeing a lot of places selling Pain au Chocolat here. Oh, by the way, if you didn't know a Pain au Chocolat (I believe I'm spelling it right) is a chocolate filled croissant.

I wandered around until I finally reached the Arc de Triomphe. It's really a marvel to see. Actually, everywhere you walk has beautiful architecture. After some time at the Arc, it was time to head to the Eiffel Tower.
On my way, I stumbled upon a marketplace selling all kinds of foods. Cheeses, meats, bread... Unfortunately, it was shutting down, so I bought a Nutella crepe quickly. It was also later in the day, so I was hungry. Yes, this means all I had eaten since I'd gotten in Paris had been chocolate and pastry. Classy.
I went to the Eiffel Tower, and it was exactly how you would expect it to be. Fun, but not something you do multiple times. Only once.
Later I wandered back the the hostel, eating some beef thing with caramelized onions on top of it for dinner. It doesn't sound like I did much, but I spent the whole day walking.

Day two was the Lourve! I got up earlier this time in order to get breakfast. This is about the time when I discovered that France might be an hour ahead of England. Well. For breakfast I received a croissant and a mini loaf of bread, or roll. I ate the croissant and saved the roll for later.
Despite my time mix up, I was able to get to the Lourve a few minutes after it had opened. Being the first Sunday of the month, it was free too! Awesome. I heard that you needed to go to the Lourve early, but I didn't think 9AM was early. Hence my confusion on why it seemed so empty. Ha. Around noon it was PACKED.
I stayed until 45 minutes to closing, and I still didn't get to everything! I know. I should have stayed until the very end, but my feet were aching. I think I saw enough Egyptian sculptures, it's okay that I didn't see ALL of them. Paintings are what mattered to me. The crazy thing is, it's been hard to tear myself away from exhibits to eat. That roll did not count as lunch as much as I wanted it to, so I had a sandwich as well.
Speaking of paintings, I think it's a little strange when people take pictures of paintings. What are you going to get from that painting with your crummy photo? I dunno, it kind of seems ridiculous to me. I digress.
Leaving the Lourve led me to a Fight or Flight scenario, and I definitely know which one I am now. A 30-40 year old guy approached me, and started talking at me. I didn't know how to respond. A side note: I had already been told fuck you by two other French men since I'd gotten to Paris (this does not include my metro saviour). Having no desire to interact with this guy, I mumbled some words and literally scampered away into a garden area. I wish I was kidding.

Soon after, I was approached by a guy my age. He told me I was cute and perhaps we should go for a coffee sometime while I was here? I got his number. He didn't get mine. I never texted him. Whoops.
My next stop I decided was to visit the Notre Dame. Why not, right? But wait! What's that over there? Is that a macaroon shop? Yes indeed, it was. I was determined to make this trip as much of a food experience as possible, and that meant trying a real French macaroon.
I bought a chocolate one, a raspberry one, and a green apple one. I ate them in front of the Notre Dame. I didn't want to think they were amazing but... Oh my goodness. They tasted like something that kicked an Oreo's ass, but that's not giving it enough credit.

After enjoying my macaroons, I wandered a bit more and started to get a bit snap happy. That's when a random guy noticed it, and knew I was in Paris for the first time. I don't know much of what we said, but one thing that he told me was,
"Sometimes it's better to live in the moment."

Honestly? This whole trip thing has been the most living in the moment I've ever done. But I totally understand.

I later had an unsuccessful trip trying to find a certain restaurant, then went back to the area around my hostel. I had an overpriced hot chocolate while I wrote in my journal.
Oh, did I mention sometime before I went to have hot chocolate I had another Nutella crepe? As "dinner"? Oy.

Tomorrow's post: Last day in Paris and London Adventures continued! For now, here are some pictures.

My hostel was behind this. Pretty good indicator at night.

View from up the Arc de Triomphe

The problem with traveling by yourself? No one to take pictures with, or to have take pictures of you!

Saw this ad around, it's just so bizarre.

I know what I said about pictures of paintings, but this room was incredible.

Real life bunny slippers. Did not know that was a thing.

Look at all the people. Madness.

I usually don't take pictures of my food, but this was an exception.

Travel Adventures: The Journey to the French Hostel

Alright. I know, I've been pretty vague on everything I've been up to. Because honestly? I've been up to so much, it's almost a blur.

We last left off with Hannah flying off to Paris. Hannah only speaks English, and some Spanish. She does not know French. Due to the factors, this meant landing in the middle of the night in Paris was a bit terrifying. When our plane landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport, the airport was empty. There were police types in military outfits patrolling. What was this? I went to the metro area to buy my ticket, but as soon as I got to the machine a metro worker ran towards us shouting in a mix of French and English. All I needed to know was that the last train was leaving the station and we ALL had to get on it if we wanted out of there. We all dashed onto the train, not even paying for a ticket.
When we got to the station that my directions told me to leave at, I jumped off. I knew that I needed to get on the metro 2. But... there was no metro 2. Meaning I wandered for awhile, lost and confused. After seeing a French girl asking the Police there for directions, I did the same. They told me to go to Avron... or at least that's what I thought he said.
When I climbed out of the metro station, I knew something was wrong. My hostel was supposed to be near the Moulin Rouge. I know what the Moulin Rouge looks like, and it's not hard to spot. So I stood on the corner, delirious and freaked the fuck out. That was when I was greeted by... Richard? I still can't quite remember. Yet Richard was my saviour in this time of terror. He could tell that I had no idea what I was doing, and he greeted me.
"I'm half American, half French! Let me help you!"
He explained that the station that I needed was Anvers, not Avron. Opposite side. Whoops. But I had to go fast, the metros were going fast! My ticket wasn't going through (I bought one at the station), so he slid his card through for me. So thank you sir. Thank you for saving me.
Finally, I arrived in front of Moulin Rouge. Now, I know you shouldn't hire taxis since they're so expensive but I knew I was close. So, I got a taxi. However, something seemed off when I started heading farther and farther away from the Moulin Rouge.
I was losing hope, thinking I was going to hate this stupid city. Until... I saw the lights. Of the Eiffel Tower and of everything surrounding the city. It was just lovely.
That feeling soon faded as the road the hostel was supposed to be on showed no life. Bring on the freaking out. Did I book a fake hostel?
After a couple of minutes of freaking out, we saw some police officers and the taxi driver asked about the hostel location. Apparently the name of the road was wrong on my directions by one letter. Hey, don't blame me, blame the hostel's website! The driver agreed to charge me less, and finally I got to my hostel. It was right next to the Moulin Rouge, like explained before online. As soon as I got in, I went into my room and passed out. Hopefully the next day would be less stressful.

And it was! Which I will explain in my next post. I'm going to write up what happened now, but I'll post about it in a separate post tomorrow. I don't know what time that will be in the U.S. Eh.

Tomorrow: I explore all that Paris has to offer... or as much as I can in three days. Huzzah!

When was the most lost you've ever been?

An European Update

Well.

It's obvious that I've been gone for quite some time. If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you should know why. If you are just stumbling upon it, let me give you an update.

• I landed in London, England on August 30th.
• I instantly took a flight to Paris, France on August 31st.
• For the last 3.5 days, I've done non-stop walking. 

So the main gist you should get from that is I'm in Paris right now. I also don't speak a word of French, but I've been able to survive. Luckily, people in big cities tend to be quite bilingual. I wonder if Portland ever has to deal with that.

I've actually been writing a lot, but it's all been in a journal. Still, most of the time I've been constantly walking. My feet are achy, but I haven't wanted to stop.

Here's a bit of a summary of my adventures currently...

When I arrived in London, I had a bit of time to walk around the city. First thing I realize was I think my mom was wrong. She convinced me it would be a good idea to bring a bigger suitcase so I would be able to bring more things home. My things all fit in a smaller suitcase, but... No buts. That thing was so hard to move around. Whatever. I tried finding wifi, but no such luck. I bought a cheap phone. I ate parts of the dinner from the flight I hadn't eaten before for lunch. I was able to find an Internet cafe for a little bit, but I only checked my email and facebook. You'd be surprised how little time twenty minutes is.
Soon I met Gregoire. Gregoire is Andrew's (family friend who I'm staying with the first few days) temporary roommate. He's going to be a surgeon! Wild. As soon as I got into the flat I fell asleep in a chair. Later, when Andrew came home I was ready to go. We three toured London, with Andrew showing us the way. He knew what was what.
We went to a pub where "apparently" shady political deals went down. Later we went to a Thai place, then headed home.

The next day I went out on the town. I wandered around, not knowing really where I was going to go. Good thing too, because if I didn't do that I wouldn't have come across the British Library.  Why did this make me excited? Welp, they just happened to have a display called Writing Britain which happened to have the original manuscript to the first Harry Potter. So yeah, pretty exciting.

After some exploring, it was back to the flat to get ready for my flight to Paris.

Gosh, I have a lot to write about still, but I'll write more later. I'm thinking I'll have more free time when I get back to London.

Tata!